Ed Vaizey grilled by MPs over impact of 4G on TV viewers

Phone rage: Ed Vaizey faced the angry barrage from the House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee. Photograph: Sarah Lee for the Guardian

Culture minister Ed Vaizey was rounded on by MPs from all parties on Tuesday over the possible cost faced by nearly 1 million TV viewers due to the introduction of the next generation of mobile phone services.

Vaizey faced the angry barrage from the House of Commons culture, media and sport select committee over the interference likely to be suffered by about 900,000 Freeview homes caused by 4G masts expected to be rolled out across Britain next year.

The committee heard that so-called mitigation measures will be introduced to help households with the introduction of filters costing about £10 each to combat the effects of the 4G signals.

The cost of these will be met by mobile operators who have set up a £180m fund to help affected households.

Committee chairman John Whittingdale repeatedly questioned Vaizey about the proposals which he said would lead to consumers suffering in order to allow 4G operators to boost their own profits.

Whittingdale said that under the current plans there "will be people who cannot watch television because mobile companies are broadcasting on 4G". He added that they may have to "pay" to remedy a problem caused "through no fault of their own".

Another committee member, Lib Dem MP Adrian Sanders, added: "People in my constituency are looking at this as a government stealth tax. These companies are making profits year on year, on year."

Vaizey told MPs that Ofcom's current consultation on the issue will include the extent to which the filters need to be installed professionally, as argued by Freeview.

"We don't share that view," said Vaizey. "There's a difference of view as to whether installation is required."

Vaizey said "vulnerable" consumers will get their installation free if required.

People with satellite or cable as the primary method of receiving TV will not be affected, but they may face problems if secondary TVs in their homes use Freeview.

Vaizey admitted that people with second or third sets would not have the cost of making their sets workable covered by the £180m fund – a position which Whittingdale said effectively meant ordinary consumers were having to pay because of the activities of the 4G companies.

"Some people take the view that every set should be covered but it's not the position we take," said Vaizey, who added that he had a responsibility to keep costs down.

The new 4G service will provide ultra-fast broadband to smartphones and tablet computers, enabling users to watch HD films.

The auction of the high-speed 4G spectrum is expected to raise between £2bn and £3bn for the government.

TV signals will be affected because the spectrum being used by the new 4G services (800 MHz) is next to spectrum used for TV services provided by Freeview. Households within 2km of a 4G mast are expected to be disrupted.

TV signals will suffer because the part of the spectrum being used for 4G is next to the band used for terrestrial digital TV services from Freeview.

Vaizey said he was "confident" the £180m would be "sufficient" and said his views differed from Freeview's position because of the different priorities.

He told today's committee hearing that the taxpayer would benefit from the receipts from the sale of spectrum.

"Politically we are not going to allow anybody to lose their television signal because of mobile phone interference," he said.

It is unclear which geographical areas will be most affected by the plans but Ofcom is expected to reveal further details about the rollout of 4G services this summer.

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